Product Description

There is a well-developed vocabulary for discussing classical music, but when it comes to popular music, how do we analyze its effects and its meaning? This text demonstrates how listeners form opinions about popular songs, and how they come to attribute a rich variety of meaning to them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #436416 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
"With this book, David Brackett takes his place among the handful of musicologists who are leading the development of a critical musicology for popular music. In clear prose, through a thoughtful, engaging authorial voice, Brackett offers six essays that are unified by his desire to create and refine ways of talking about how popular music works. . . . [Brackett's book] is not only much more illuminating and theoretically sophisticated than nearly all of its predecessors, but also more so than most of what has appeared subsequently."--Robert Walser, "Notes"

Customer Reviews

Must-read for anyone into music or pop culture studies.

David Brackett's work is a major contribution to the field of popular music scholarship, as well as to the growing debates about the future of music studies. It's wonderfully readable, thoughtful and wide-ranging, and he challenges some sacred cows in both musicology and popular music studies.

There's something for everyone here: chapter topics range from Hank Williams to James Brown to Elvis Costello. And Brackett smoothly uses a stunning array of approaches tailored to each of these widely varied musics. If you're interested in popular culture, popular music, or music studies, DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!
--Anahid Kassabian